


hidden treasure

by vagarius



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: (it's misumi's grandpa and it happens right before the fic starts), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, Child Neglect, Family, Friendship, Gen, Minor Character Death, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:55:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22958305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagarius/pseuds/vagarius
Summary: Misumi's grin drops. "But Itaru still cares about his family, doesn't he?"or: Itaru and Misumi are cousins.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru & Ikaruga Misumi
Comments: 28
Kudos: 153





	hidden treasure

**Author's Note:**

> finishing this fic was hard-earned, but i'm glad i finished!!
> 
> (spoilers for captain sky pirates)

His grandfather's death was a long time coming.

That's what his mother tells him, at least: that he collapsed one day, and has been in the hospital since, and that it was only a matter of time before his body finally gave out. _He died in his sleep,_ she tells him on the way to the funeral. _It was probably a saving grace, for him. It couldn't have been fun just lying in a hospital bed all day._

Truthfully, Itaru only feels bad in an obligatory sense; he didn't know his grandfather that well, but he always sent birthday cards and Christmas gifts through the mail, and he knows someone out there must be missing him terribly. His sister is similar, and the two of them act with same disinterested respect throughout the service. This disinterest in the actual proceedings, perhaps, is what leads to Itaru's later distraction in the form of a boy.

"Is that a middle school uniform?" he whispers to his sister after the formal service ends, their mother already walking away from them to offer condolences to the other adults.

She looks to where Itaru points, her face briefly turning startled at what she sees. "I think it is, yeah."

"Who sends their kid to a funeral in their school uniform?"

"Ah, maybe they didn't have anything else to wear?"

_That's sad,_ Itaru thinks, but doesn't bother pointing it out. His sister seems to know already. "Do you know who it is?" Itaru asks instead.

"Based on the hair, it's probably Auntie's kid, but I thought their son was younger."

"Like him?" Itaru asks, pointing toward a family of three gathered around the casket. "That's Auntie next to him, isn't it?"

"Yeah," his sister agrees, looking troubled. "Maybe they had a second kid…?"

"Then why is the 'second' kid older?"

"You're being a bit too talkative today, aren't you?"

Itaru pauses. "Ah, maybe." _But does it not bother you?_

Auntie's family moves away from the casket, and the boy in the middle school uniform takes the chance to walk up to it. Itaru just watches him, for a moment, before his sister forcibly turns him away. "Nee-san?"

"I think he should have this moment to himself," his sister says, marching them in a random direction. "Don't you?"

A few minutes later, a small commotion breaks out, and when Itaru looks toward the noise, he sees Auntie struggling to get the boy away from the casket, a somewhat frazzled man standing in front of them. "It's time to leave," she says sweetly. "The cremation is soon. We can't keep the workers waiting."

"With all due respect, ma'am, if your son needs more time – "

"He doesn't," she says firmly, and something in Itaru's heart crunches painfully.

"Itaru?" his sister exclaims, but Itaru is already across the room, neatly inserting himself next to the boy.

"Auntie?" Itaru says, his beautiful persona emerging full force. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I know you just want this day to be as stress-free as possible, but – " Itaru fidgets with his fingers, looking left and away – "I haven't had the chance to say goodbye. So would you be able to wait? Just for a little bit?"

Auntie's face twists, but Itaru knows she can't save face and deny him at the same time. Appearances are a double-edged sword. (Itaru, sadly, probably knows this better than anyone.) "Of course, um – "

"Itaru."

" – Itaru-kun."

Itaru smiles gratefully. "Thank you, Auntie," he says, turning toward the casket. "I won't be long."

His aunt smiles pleasantly before stepping away. Itaru lets out a small sigh of relief.

"Go on," he says to the boy, who hasn't moved since Itaru arrived. "I'll have to be standing here, but feel free to finish saying goodbye."

The boy remains frozen next to him, but after a few moments, he reaches out for his grandfather, his face scrunching pitifully. "Jii-chan…" he mumbles, voice surprisingly composed.

For a while, the two of them just stand there in silence. Itaru expects to feel awkward, but the boy's presence is oddly calming, even as he sniffles and shuffles from foot to foot. Eventually, Itaru feels a tug on his sleeve, and when he looks down, the boy smiles at him, small but bright. "Thank you, Itaru."

Itaru smiles back at him. "No problem. What's your name, by the way?"

"Misumi," the boy answers. "It means triangle!"

"Does it now?" _What a strange name._

"Mm, mm." Misumi deflates slightly. "Jii-chan always told me to find my three treasures. There's three, so it must be a triangle, right?"

"Maybe," Itaru agrees, spying his aunt returning from the corner of his eye.

When Itaru finally leaves the boy and the casket, his mother and sister are waiting for him. "What's with the complicated looks on your faces?"

His sister punches him lightly on the arm. "Let's just go home, Itaru."

It isn't an answer, but Itaru accepts it, anyway.

Itaru doesn't expect to see Misumi again. The Ikarugas are intent on hiding him, evidently, and even if they weren't, Itaru is a working adult now, and rarely shows up to family functions beyond staying with his mother and sister. By the time he joins Mankai, he has nearly forgotten about the boy at the funeral.

Even when he meets the rest of the completed Summer Troupe, the memory stays hidden, nudging at the back of his mind without fully revealing itself. It isn't until Misumi's mumbled _Itaru_ that it hits him, the lone memory rushing forward.

_"Misumi," the boy in his mind says. "It means triangle!"_

"Ah," Itaru says, "I remember you now."

Misumi grins, wide and carefree, and Itaru feels oddly relieved. "Itaru!" Misumi repeats, bouncing closer. "Itaru, it's you!"

"It is," Itaru confirms, not knowing what else to say.

"… Are we not going to ask what's happening?" one of the Summer Troupe members – Tenma, he thinks – mutters.

"I would like to know what's happening, too," Izumi declares, looking frantically between the two of them.

Misumi turns toward her, grin never wavering. "Itaru and I are cousins!" He explains, then tilts his head. "I think?"

"You think?" Rurikawa interjects, but Misumi doesn't look too offended.

"We are," Itaru assures. "At least, I'm pretty sure. The remaining Ikarugas and Chigasakis aren't exactly close, anyway."

Misumi's grin drops. "But Itaru still cares about his family, doesn't he?"

_I don't know what you're trying to ask me,_ Itaru thinks. "I do," he responds. "I'm glad that we're meeting again."

Misumi's answering grin is faint. Itaru can only guess what he's thinking about.

("You're a lot taller now," Itaru says, cautiously finding a place to sit on Misumi's bedroom floor. Misumi's bedroom is as messy at Itaru's own, but the clutter looks oddly organized, each item obviously placed with care. "You really like triangles, huh?"

"Mm!" Misumi agrees. "They're really pretty, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. Actually – " Itaru reaches into his pocket, pulling out the keychain he dug out from his desk – "you can have this one, if you'd like?"

Misumi's eyes sparkle, and Itaru wonders how little he must have had, for his eyes to sparkle just for this. "Really?"

"Really."

Misumi takes the keychain gently out of his hand, admiring the trinket with silent fascination. "I'll use it to decorate my desk!" he says, a few moments later, then springs up to do just that. "Thank you, Itaru!"

Itaru smiles gently. "No problem, Misumi."

Misumi smiles back, humming a tune as he finds a spot for the keychain.)

Nothing much changes, after that. Between work, gaming, and practices, Itaru only sees the Summer Troupe members in small glimpses. In the mornings, Misumi sees him off, full of energy despite the early hour. All five of them will waltz in late for dinner, all varying degrees of irritable and exhausted as they thank Izumi or Tsuzuru, depending on the meal. And very rarely, Itaru will run into one of them in the kitchen late at night, bleary and quiet in a way Itaru never thought he'd see them.

"Misumi?" Itaru whispers, on one of these nights. "What are you still doing up?"

"Itaru!" Misumi whisper-shouts, head popping up from behind the door of the fridge. "I was watching the moon! But I lost track of time…"

_Something's off._ Itaru grabs himself a glass and starts filling it with water from the tap. He came to grab his liter of soda from the fridge, but Misumi is still in front of it, and something about this feels important. Itaru turns off the tap. "It's a crescent moon today, isn't it?"

Misumi nods. "Yup! The triangle moon!" Misumi briefly makes a triangle symbol with his hands, then chirps as he finds what he wants in the fridge. He pulls out a container of leftover rice, setting it on the counter with a flourish. "Now it's onigiri time!"

Itaru's lips quirk up without him meaning to. "Don't you want something to fill it with?"

Misumi hums, turning around to wash his hands at the kitchen sink. Itaru neatly moves over to give him room. "It would be better that way," he replies, "but even if it's just rice, the onigiri is still yummy! It's a triangle, after all."

Itaru takes a sip of his water and thinks about the games still blaring in his room, momentarily paused and awaiting his return. Misumi is no longer in front of the fridge, so he could just grab his soda and go, and Misumi could make his midnight snack in peace. But then he remembers the boy in the middle school uniform, standing alone like a stranger. The one who was not even allowed a goodbye.

Itaru grabs a plate from the cabinet.

"Itaru?" Misumi questions, about to dry his hands.

"There's not that much rice left, so we should just use the rest." Itaru turns on the faucet once more. "I haven't done this in a while, so you're going to have to coach me."

This is only partially a lie; Itaru really _hasn't_ made onigiri in a while, but not so long that he's completely forgotten. Misumi knows this, Itaru suspects, but he walks him through it anyway, from wetting and salting his hands to forming _the most triangular triangle,_ and Itaru finds his shoulders loosening as he listens, the leftover rice in the container quickly disappearing as more onigiri are put on the plate.

They sit at the table after washing the salt off their hands, and Misumi's eyes are sparkling. Itaru doesn't really understand it, but he lets Misumi's soft happiness wash over him, and Itaru once again wonders where he finds so much joy for such little things.

Misumi is a surprisingly neat eater, even though he can't seem to sit still. He finishes his current onigiri before turning to Itaru, legs swinging underneath him. "Itaru really cares about his family, huh?"

"Huh?" Itaru parrots, vaguely embarrassed by the chunk of rice that falls out of his mouth and onto his lap. He swallows before continuing. "I mean, I suppose so. That's how it should be, isn't it?"

Misumi shoots him a closed-mouthed smile. "Itaru is right. I guess that…" Misumi trails off, his legs slowing to a stop. Itaru tilts his head.

"You guess what?" he prompts.

Misumi hums. "Don't worry about it, Itaru! It's nothing~"

_I doubt that,_ Itaru thinks, as Misumi grabs another onigiri. _But…_

Itaru takes another bite. _For now, just this is fine._

(His door creaks open many months later, after the dorm has been filled and the twenty-one of them have settled into a strange, chaotic routine. "Guess what!" a voice whisper-yells into the dark of his room. "I'm the lead for the next play! I get to play a pirate!"

"A pirate, huh?" Itaru's eyes don't leave his monitor, but he waves Misumi over to sit on the beanbag next to his computer chair. "I can show you some pirate games, if you want."

"Thank you, Itaru!"

The beanbag crunches as Misumi presumably flops onto it. Itaru glances down at him while the next area loads. _His face is bright, but his posture is gloomy…_

In-game, Itaru spawns in a wide alley. He hides quickly, then changes his gun to prepare for the onslaught of enemies he knows is coming. The first one charges, and Itaru efficiently takes him down with a head shot. He takes out the rest of the wave much the same way, mentally cataloguing the items that drop as they're taken down. After this, he would usually charge out, take the items he wants, then trigger the next wave of enemies by exiting the alley. Instead, he waits, lifting his hands off the keyboard to face Misumi fully. "Did you want to try one of the pirate games? I have one on my phone."

"No…" Misumi's lips curl down into a pout. "This play… Jii-chan's favorite play was about pirates, too. He wrote it for the old Summer Troupe."

_Grandfather's? I didn't even know he was into theater..._ "Then that's good, isn't it?"

"Mm." Misumi sinks further into the bean bag. "Right after Jii-chan died, thinking about Jii-chan made my chest hurt. Eventually, thoughts of Jii-chan would make me happy when I was sad… But when I think of Jii-chan now, my chest hurts like it did back then."

Itaru turns back toward his monitor. "You must miss him a lot."

Misumi hums again. "Jii-chan was more than family, because Jii-chan cared for me when no one else did."

_But Itaru still cares about his family, doesn't he?_

Itaru collects his items, then dashes out of the alley. He isn't sure what to say.)

"Itarun?"

Itaru would usually ignore anyone knocking on his door – it's Friday night, after all – but the lack of playfulness in Kazunari's voice gives him pause. _Misumi's usually right behind him, too…_

Itaru sighs, pausing his current game to go open the door. Kazunari beams when he does, but Itaru isn't fooled; he knows masks when he sees them. Tenma, Yuki, and Muku are lined up behind him, and with one look inside his own room, Itaru makes the executive decision to step outside. "We're not all going to fit in there," he says, ushering them back upstairs to their own rooms.

Kazunari leads the pack to his room, pulling out his phone to show Itaru art of a game he knows Itaru likes, and Itaru indulges him in his mindless chatter.

"So," Itaru says, as soon as they're all in the room. "What did you need Onii-chan for?"

"Please never call yourself that again," Yuki comments, which. Fair.

Itaru rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. So? What did you all want?"

"Well, uh…" Kazunari absentmindedly taps his thumbs together, not quite looking Itaru in the eye. "We were just worried, I guess."

"About me?" Itaru asks.

"About Misumi," Tenma corrects.

"Ah," Itaru responds. "I'm not quite sure how much help I can be, but go on ahead."

"We just want to ask some questions!" Muku cuts in, before anyone else can possibly set them off course. "We have the new play coming up, and – "

"And the Trianglian isn't acting like himself."

Itaru nods, then gestures for them to go on.

"The new play was inspired by one of his grandpa's old plays, so – "

" – we figured he'd be super hyped about it! Which he is, but – "

" – he told us he couldn't remember him, that well. And then we found a map to Hakkaku-san's treasure! But it wasn't here…"

"When we found out that his family took it, he suddenly just… gave up."

"So please tell us about his family, so we can bring back his grandpa's treasure!"

Itaru lets himself be briefly amazed by Summer Troupe's passing game, then blinks as understanding washes over him. "Did you say that his family has it?"

The four of them nod, and Itaru involuntarily grimaces.

"Are they… that bad?" Muku ventures, looking vaguely sick.

"Ah, well…" Itaru trails off, and recalls the boy in the middle school uniform. "Us Chigasakis and Ikarugas aren't very close. I'd only see Auntie occasionally outside of social media – even less so now that I've become a working adult" Itaru pauses, gathering his thoughts. "Auntie and I are actually pretty similar. We both have images to upkeep. She's a bit more diligent about it than I am, though." _And I'm pretty damn diligent._

"I first met him at our grandfather's funeral," Itaru continues, reluctant to share the details. "That was six years ago. He's nineteen now, isn't he? That means he was thirteen, back then."

"Did you guys live far from each other, or something?" Tenma asks, his eyebrows scrunching.

"You misunderstand," Itaru says. "I didn't know Misumi _existed_ before this funeral. How did I not know him for that long?" Itaru's voice involuntarily grows angrier when he finishes. He takes a moment to breathe, letting his thoughts settle into something calmer, more coherent. "I didn't know he existed for thirteen years," he elaborates, voice deliberately even. "That's the kind of family they are."

Yuki and Tenma look vaguely livid at Itaru's answer, while Kazunari looks sick to his stomach. Muku just looks sad. "How could they do that?" he asks, voice quiet and broken.

_It's worse,_ Itaru thinks, remembering the little boy by Auntie's side. He shakes his head. "I don't know," he lies.

("Itaru?" Misumi asks him, later that night. "Tenma, everyone… did you tell them about Madoka?"

"Madoka?" Itaru repeats, then remembers. "Oh, him. No."

Misumi shuffles further into the doorway. "Does Itaru know how Madoka is doing? Is he doing well?"

_Maybe…_ "Auntie posts pictures of him, sometimes," Itaru says as casually as he can. "I can show you some more recent ones, if you want?"

Misumi's lips wobble upward. "Can I?"

"Of course," Itaru answers, already pulling out his phone. He pulls up Auntie's latest post. "You really love him, don't you?" he asks, watching as Misumi's face softens at whatever image he pulled up.

"I do!" Misumi cheers softly. "He's my precious brother. He can do anything."

Itaru leans over Misumi's shoulder, following his gaze down to Madoka's digital face. "You can do anything, too, you know."

Misumi shakes his head. "Madoka is a much better son than I am," he states. "That's why Mom and Dad love Madoka."

Itaru frowns, taking care to keep his voice unassuming. "They should love you, too," he says, and wonders if Misumi will even believe him.

Misumi scrolls. Another picture of Madoka comes up on the screen. "Mom and Dad should spend their time on Madoka. I'm just…" Misumi trails off, his shoulders slumping. "I'm just his useless brother, after all."

"Misumi…" Itaru trails off as Misumi forcibly perks up again, and scrolls once more down the screen. "You're not useless." Itaru places a hand on his shoulder. "Your parents should have treasured you. The fact they didn't is no one's fault but theirs."

Misumi giggles. "Treasure, huh? I wonder what Mom and Dad's three treasures are…"

_You should have been one of them,_ Itaru thinks. _Screw appearances._

_Auntie's three treasures… you should have been one of them._ )

A few weeks later, Misumi dashes to where Itaru sits at the kitchen table. Itaru is in the middle of grinding through an event on his phone, but his LP is about to run out, so he lets himself place his phone on the table when Misumi plops down next to him, buzzing with an energy that Itaru can't imagine possessing.

"Itaru," Misumi starts, excitement barely contained in the rasp of his voice, "Muku and Kantoku-san got Jii-chan's treasure for me!"

Itaru blinks, unsure what Misumi could be talking about. Misumi reaches into his pocket before he can ask, pulling out a small picture with obvious care.

He pushes the picture too close to Itaru's face, but as Itaru leans back, several figures come into focus, one of them being his grandfather. Misumi beams from behind the photo. "I can finally remember Jii-chan's face!" he exclaims. "And his voice, and the words he said to me. I remember them!"

Itaru can't help but smile. "That's great, Misumi."

Misumi turns the picture toward himself, his own smile softening as he gazes at it. "My chest doesn't hurt anymore, when I think about Jii-chan," he muses. "Jii-chan cared for me when no one else would. That's why I always want to remember Jii-chan."

_No one, huh… I wonder if that "no one" includes you, Misumi._

"But now I have the Summer Troupe!" Misumi continues. "And I have Itaru, who cares about his family. Now I can remember Jii-chan because I want to – not because I need to."

_Itaru, who cares about his family… is that all I am? Is that all I've been doing?_

"You know, Misumi," Itaru interjects, "I don't care about you because you're my family. I care about you because you're you."

Misumi blinks up at him, photo still held delicately between his fingers. "Because I'm me?"

"Mm," Itaru hums. "You've asked me if I care about my family, and I do. But I also care about _you._ "

Itaru finds himself holding his breath, wondering if Misumi will understand what he's trying to say. _You understand me, don't you? Please understand, for both our sakes._

Misumi carefully places the photo back in his pocket. "I care about Itaru, too," he says. "The Itaru who is my family, and the Itaru who saved me back then… I love them, because they're Itaru."

Itaru exhales. His phone beeps – a game notification. "It's the same for me," he explains.

Misumi grins, and Itaru thinks he finally gets it. Then Misumi springs up from his seat, buzzing with impossible energy once more. "Summer Troupe is going to be really busy with practice, but after that, we should do some street acts together! And play games!"

Itaru laughs. "Sure, Misumi. We can."

Misumi laughs, too, before bouncing toward the fridge with unconcealed cheer.

"I guess I'll dig out those pirate games," Itaru mumbles to himself, picking his phone up from the table.

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter: @jea9yj](https://twitter.com/jea9yj)


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